VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIT #0896/01 2751327
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021327Z OCT 07
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7569
INFO RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000896 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL TU IZ
SUBJECT: TESEV TO U/S BURNS: CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM IS THE 
PRIORITY 
 
REF: A. ISTANBUL 0050 
     ¶B. ISTANBUL 0664 
 
¶1.  (U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified.  Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Leaders of Turkey's most progressive civil society 
think tank, the Turkish Economic and Social Studies 
Foundation, stressed to U/S Burns that while reform of 
Article 301 was important, the government must carefully 
decide where to spend its new-found political capital. 
Constitutional reform that re-calibrates the balance of civil 
and military authority has the potential to have a broader 
impact and should therefore be given the highest priority. 
The group also discussed the challenges facing the Ecumenical 
Patriarchate and opined on the sources of anti-Americanism in 
Turkey, underscoring the need for the U.S. to take concrete 
actions against the PKK while warning about the risks 
associated with the proposed U.S. congressional Armenian 
"genocide" resolution.  End summary. 
 
ARTICLE 301 
----------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation 
(TESEV) chairman Can Paker explained to U/S Burns during a 
September 18 meeting that the government has decided to 
change the controversial Turkish Penal Code Article 301 which 
makes it a crime to insult "Turkishness."  However, he 
caveated, the administration hasn't decided whether to focus 
on it as a single reform or address it within the context of 
constitutional reform.  Acknowledging the latter approach may 
take longer than the U.S. and EU would prefer, Paker argued 
constitutional reform is preferable because of its broader 
implications.  While change to Article 301 is necessary, he 
noted, "other numbers exist." 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The director of TESEV's democratization program 
Etyen Mahcupyan further argued that the constitutional reform 
process adds legitimacy to any associated changes that 
result.  Agreeing with Paker that Article 301-type reforms 
must be done because they are right for Turkey and not just 
because the EU demands them as part of Turkey's accession 
process, Mahcupyan concluded the government is using the 
constitutional reform process to assess the public's 
tolerance for change in other areas.  Noting the ruling 
Justice and Development Party's (AKP's) strong performance 
during the July 22 parliamentary elections and the subsequent 
election of one of its own to the post of President, U/S 
Burns made the case that now was a good time for the 
government to take steps on initiating reforms.  Paker agreed 
but cautioned it would be wiser for the government to use its 
political capital on establishing a genuine, liberal 
constitution than to spend it on a single issue. 
 
HALKI SEMINARY 
-------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) U/S Burns also expressed USG concerns for the 
rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, especially those 
regarding challenges to the Patriarch's ecumenical title and 
the re-opening of Halki Seminary.  Paker stressed there was 
no legal ground for closing the seminary and that it was 
mainly a policy issue.  Mahcupyan expounded that this policy 
has been sustained by fears of demands the Muslim community 
might make for opening its own Koranic schools should Halki 
Seminary be opened.  While handing U/S Burns a study TESEV 
completed on the subject in December 2006 (ref A), Paker 
exclaimed TESEV is in favor of re-opening the seminary.  At 
the same time, he added, legal actions concerning the 
ecumenicity of the Patriarch (ref B) are "nonsense" and 
simply the result of a nationalistic game that also has no 
legal basis. 
 
ANTI-AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Asked why Turkish public opinion of the United 
States is so low, Mahcupyan responded there is a wide-spread 
perception that while the U.S. has made fighting terrorism a 
priority, it does not approach combating the PKK with the 
same urgency.  Paker, however, cautioned U/S Burns not to be 
too focused on the results of a recent Pew Global Attitudes 
poll indicating Turkish public opinion of the United States 
is among the lowest in the world.  "At times we've hated the 
Brits, the French and others," he asserted, noting that the 
questionnaire used for the poll was not formulated correctly. 
 Both Paker and Mahcupyan maintained that visible, concrete 
action against the PKK would quickly change public 
perceptions of the United States in Turkey.  U/S Burns 
stressed the US has had the strongest position against the 
PKK and done more than any other country to combat it. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Mensur Akgun, director of TESEV's foreign policy 
program argued the U.S. needs a broader change in policy to 
gain the respect of Muslim countries, to include 
demonstrating a greater esteem for the United Nations.  The 
issues defining Turkish public perceptions of the U.S. are 
not monolithic, he asserted.  U.S. pressure on Iraq to 
contain the PKK, the Cyprus initiative and the proposed U.S. 
congressional Armenian "genocide" resolution (AGR) all factor 
in, said Akgun.  Regarding the latter issue, Paker and Akgun 
warned that the AGR is easily exploited and that it doesn't 
matter that the U.S. administration opposes it -- Turks will 
view this as America's opinion. 
 
 
CIVIL-MILITARY BALANCE 
---------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Responding to U/S Burns' suggestion that reaching 
out to Kurdish regional leader Barzani and Iraqi President 
Talabani would help the GOT gain Iraqi support for combating 
the PKK, Paker observed that the government is beginning to 
do that but Turkish foreign policy is "grossly" influenced by 
the military.  A greater civil balance is necessary, he 
affirmed, lamenting that the military's involvement impedes 
progress on resolving these problems.  Praising the current 
government for defending TESEV after the organization was 
condemned by the military for taking up the civil-military 
balance issue, Paker added, "until now, Turkey has had no 
foreign policy, only a foreign position."  Mahcupyan conceded 
that the military is changing in response to a maturing 
public that no longer needs it to define and protect Turkish 
identity.  Still, there are limits to the reforms the 
military will tolerate, he asserted.  "No general wants that 
change while he's in office," warned Mahcupyan. 
 
¶9.  (U) U/S Burns cleared this message. 
 
WIENER